Wednesday, December 13, 2006

We made it through The Promise.

Lindsey came down with the flu that second weekend of performances and is getting better each day, but she had it rough for a few days. Amber got pink eye the last day; she healed very quickly with eye drops. Erin carried a cough for several days and was a run down, but she is fine now. I have had the sniffling, sneezing, stuffy head, and laryngitis for a few days, but I am feeling much better. Rex is tired, but he is doing ok. I can tell his body is trying to get sick, but he is fighting it extremely well. I think all of his supplements are working to build his immune system. Aside from the cancer, he probably has the healthiest immune system of any of us with all that he does to boost it.

Our family was blessed getting to participate in The Promise; it was satisfying service to our Lord, especially for Rex. Although, he is tired, he was saddened to see it come to an end.

I hope that you are planning to come by this Saturday. We are looking forward to seeing you and having some good fellowship. I hope that you were able to forward our invitation on by email and verbally. This is a weird sort of invitation, I know, since I don't really have a clue how many people that I am inviting, nevertheless, I am planning as best as I can, and we want as many as you who can to come and visit us whether it be brief or whether you can stay and meander with us. I have encountered a little hesitation with this invitation from some people who don't directly get updates from me. Please know that if you have cared for us, prayed for us, kept up with our lives, given to us, and/or loved us, YOU ARE INVITED! I am relying on the forwards of this to carry the invitation for me.

I realize that some are too many miles away, but for those who are nearby, please join us.

God has really been good to us, and we want to celebrate. Celebrate with us.

"Celebrate God's Goodness"
Saturday, December 16th 4:30 pm - 7:30 pm floating Christmas party

Psalm 91: 14-16 14 "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. 15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation."

Where have you set your love? Who gets your adoration and praise?

Hope to see you soon,

Donna Meadows

Wednesday, December 6, 2006

We have been pretty busy these last several weeks getting ready for "The Promise" at our church. We have had one weekend of 3 performances and are scheduled to do 4 performances this weekend.

As this year comes to an end, I can look back and see tremendous trials and tremendous growth in our lives for 2006. We have been through the hardest year of our lives, and yet I can honestly say that through it, we have felt God's hand upon us as never before. We have been blessed this year in many ways.

We have had the privilege of living these last four years in the house that my mom and dad built 14 years ago. My mom loved Christmas time and loved people. One of their goals in building this house was to make it a home for people to gather and fellowship. So, for 3 years, they had a Christmas party each year when they invited their friends and family to drop in and say" hello" and get a bite to eat and fellowship. They were floating parties in which you could come and stay 5 minutes or 2 hours, whichever suited you. She would have the house fully decorated; her Christmas tree was her specialty as she had spent 15 years developing it with special ornaments. Everything that adorned her tree had a spiritual reference relating to Jesus Christ. She oftentimes would share the gospel while sharing what each item on her tree symbolized. It was a great occasion for my mom, and she loved doing it. The last Christmas party my parents were able to have was 10 years ago this year. She wasn't able to have one her last Christmas here because she was too sick with cancer.

We have decided that in memory of my mom and also because of what this year has been for us, that we would like to have "A Celebration of God's Goodness" with a floating Christmas party, just like the ones my mom and dad gave. We are going to decorate it the way my parents decorated it and have "her" tree (of course, my dad did most of the work). We will have all kinds of good eats to share with you.

We would like to invite every one of you to stop in and stay for 5 minutes or 2 hours and fellowship with us. Many of you forward these updates on and on; this invitation is endless. If you regularly receive our updates, then you are invited whether we have ever met or not. We would love to meet you. If you know of someone who doesn't get the email updates, but prays for us and cares for us, then please let them know they, too, are invited. We would be very honored if everyone of you would drop in and say "hi."

For those of you across the miles and out of reach, let me say, "Thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers over these last twelve months. Thank you for taking the time to read my updates and care for us. Feel free to drop us a note if we can't see you face to face and fellowship with you. My prayer is that you have drawn closer to God in 2006 and that you are treasuring each day that God gives you."

We have been cared for, given to, prayed for, and loved on this year by very many people. This is our way of saying, "THANK YOU!" and of celebrating all that God has done for us this year.

God has been good to us, and He has blessed us.

We have set Saturday, December 16th as the time to have this fellowship. To accommodate busy Christmas schedules, we would like to open this celebration at 4:30 in the afternoon for those who do not like to drive at night or have other plans in the evening, and we plan to keep it open until around 7:30 p.m. If you want to come and can't come until 7:30 p.m., please, still come by. We want to hug you and give you our personal thanks for your prayers, thoughts, concerns, encouragement, and gifts to us this year.

Our phone number is 828-294-2384 if you need our address or you can always email us at rdeam@hotmail.com

Looking forward to seeing you:
"A Celebration of God's Goodness"
Saturday, December 16, 2006 4:30pm - 7:30pm floating Christmas party

Psalm 65:11 You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance.

Exodus 23:25So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.

Psalm 41:3 The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Donna Meadows